Alex of Sparkadia

This beautiful song accompanied many a long highway in this year of constant touring. Arthur Russell is one of those rare musicians that never ceases to impress me with the variety and resonance of his output. Sometimes i wish that he was around now just to see what he would be making in this era.

I’ve always loved this song. However, when I heard that he apparently wrote this in honour of Prince, I revisited it. This particular video of him is one of the reasons why YouTube is so awesome. A live version of him playing in front of a bunch of kids singing along. What a golden moment.

The Amen Break is literally the most sampled drumbreak in history. It’s very essence spawned the whole genre of drum and bass. This video explains its origin and poses interesting commentary on the nature and future of copyright.